What Happened Next?
by Orchid Moon
Summary: After Alison supposedly goes up in flames, what happens next?  Aria gets a jail call. Spencer runs into Olivia. Emily falls in love, AGAIN. Hanna has a little relapse.  And they all get a suspicious text message, sound familiar?
1. Chapter 1

It's been three months since the horrific fire. The fire that killed the four girls' ex-best friend. Or, ex-best friend's twin.

Rosewood has been… peaceful. The girls' lives were beginning to get back to normal. Whatever normal is, anyway.

Spencer was beginning to get back on her feet.

Hanna was the prettiest girl in Rosewood.

Emily was starting to mingle with some pretty Rosewood girls.

And Aria was very happy with Noel. And her new half-sister, Geraldine; as awkward as that might be.

Everything was… peachy. For a while, at least.

Hanna, who hadn't changed out of her school blazer, was the first to arrive at the coffee shop. She bought four lattes and sat down at their favorite booth.

Aria was the next to arrive. Hanna jumped up from her seat and kissed Aria's cheeks. Aria was wearing her usual goofy outfit: black shorts, with neon green tights, a bright pink shirt that had way too many zippers, and her hair was pulled up in a silly fashion. But it all worked for Aria.

Emily came in next, wearing one of her swimming tees. _H2O: 2 parts heart, 1 part obsession. _She sat down next to Aria, and they all begun discussing the new couplings of Rosewood.

Spencer was the last to arrive. Probably coming from a club she just rejoined, she hadn't changed out of her uniform either.

She sat down looking overworked and exhausted. She grabbed her latte and gulped down half of it.

"Be careful, it's hot," warned Hanna.

Spencer moved the cup away from her lips. "I'm fine."

"Okay, a certain girl's birthday is coming," mentioned Aria.

"Ugh. I don't want to make a big deal of it," said Emily.

"Too bad."

"Yeah. You get a huge bash," said Hanna with a huge smile.

"Fine, as long as-" Emily got interrupted by four little beeps.

Hanna's eyes bulged, Spencer choked on her latte, and Aria let out a squeal.

They all grabbed their phones.

_**You really think I'm that dismissible THAT easily?**_

_**Ha. You wish. I'm back, bitches. **_

_** Xoxo- A**_


	2. Chapter 2

Hanna had totally discarded any texts or calls from her three best friends. She didn't believe Alison was alive, and that was that. It was probably just some asshole trying to scare them. There was no point in disturbing the police. The others thought much differently.

Emily said that they go to the police whether it was Alison or not, people like this had to be stopped.

Aria totally believed it was Alison, but didn't want to go to the police until they had proof.

Spencer thought it was Alison, and demanded that they go to the police.

_They're so naïve, _thought Hanna. She knew she was more mature. Besides, she had bigger things to worry about.

Her hips were getting gigantic, her thighs were huge, and was that_ cellulite_ she could see on her ass?

Hanna walked to her pantry, and grabbed a box of Cheez-Itz. She sat down on the couch right in front of the television. She flipped through the channels until she found _The World According to Paris. _

She was laughing at the foolish antics on the television screen, when she stuck her hand down the box, and realized there were no Cheez-Itz left.

Her stomach made a disturbing sound. She looked down to find that her stomach was bulging out of her size 4 jeans.

She ran to the bathroom, and looked in the mirror. She saw poop-brown hair, braces, and a very, very chubby stomach.

She bent over the toilet, and grabbed a toothbrush. She shoved it down her throat, and in seconds, the Cheez-Itz appeared in the toilet. She flushed, and then sat down on the marble floor. _I can't do this again, _she thought to herself. However, when she got back up and looked in the mirror, the gorgeous Hanna Marin looked back.

"I am Hanna Marin, and I am fabulous."

**I know it's really short, but the next one is going to be über long and suspenseful **


	3. Chapter 3

"Hanna doesn't think we should do anything," Emily said through the phone. She sat down on her bed, and wiped the sweat off of her forehead.

"Of course she does. It's so Hanna-esque. She won't believe it's Alison until she sees her typing a text message with her own eyes. We shouldn't go to the police though, we don't have enough proof," replied Aria.

Emily sighed. Wasn't that text message proof enough? _You really think I'm that dismissible THAT easily? Ha. You wish. I'm back, bitches. Xoxo- A. _The message still haunted her.

"I guess… Maybe it's not Alison…" suggested Emily.

"Impossible."

"Not necessarily. It could just be some jerk trying to pull a prank, but even so we should go to the police. They'll be able to trace the call and stop whoever it is, whether it's Alison or some douche," said Emily.

"We just need to tell somebody. And soon. Before everything gets out of hand… Because it will, and fast," replied Aria.

"I know, I know."

"We need to convince Hanna. It's not a good idea to tell the police that all of us got a text message from Alison, when one of us will deny it."

"Definitely. But… She's just so stubborn. We won't get to her."

Aria sighed through the phone. "We have to try."

"I know, I know."

"Emily!" yelled Emily's mother from downstairs. "Dinner!"

"Aria, I gotta go, but we'll talk to tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure, bye."

Emily hung up her phone, and walked downstairs to the dinner table. She could smell the roasted chicken, the stir-fried veggies, and the amazing home-made gravy.

She sat down and helped herself.

"Emily, Caroline, next week we're going to have a foreign exchange student come stay at our house," said Mrs. Fields.

Both Emily and Caroline groaned. "Mom, why?" asked Caroline.

"Because it's a great opportunity for the both of you to meet someone from a different country."

"How long will they be staying?" asked Emily.

"She'll be staying for a month, possibly two. And I want both of you two to be nice, polite, and helpful, okay?" said Mrs. Fields.

"What's her name?" asked Caroline.

"Where is she from?" asked Emily at the same time.

"She's from China, her name is Jia Li, here is a picture of her," Mrs. Fields said while handing over a picture to Emily.

Emily looked at the picture. She saw a petite Asian girl, with long black hair, and bright brown eyes. She was beautiful. Emily's privates started to get excited, and she needed to excuse herself from the table.


	4. Chapter 4

Noel stared at her from across the study hall. _Wow, he gorgeous, _she thought. He gave her wink, and she fiercely blushed. She gave a small, discreet wave in reply to the wink. He responded with a smile.

"Spencer?" Andrew interrupted her thoughts. "We're supposed to be working on this formula."

Spencer jerked her head away from Noel. "What? Oh, right. The formula." She looked over to Noel again.

_Meet me in the art room in five, _Noel mouthed. Spencer nodded.

"Listen, Andrew, I gotta go," said Spencer.

"What? Why? We just started."

"I know, I know. I have… other things to do," replied Spencer.

"Alright. I'll call you later?" Andrew said, getting up to kiss Spencer.

"No need," Spencer said, dodging the kiss.

Andrew looked a bit disgruntled, but turned back to his homework. Spencer gathered her things, and straightened her uniform.

Spencer had no idea why she was doing this. She was probably just looking for something new, and fresh; something _not _Andrew. For the past couple of weeks he's become so… annoying, and bothersome. He's become more like a very vexing younger brother than a boyfriend.

She walked into the art room. She found Noel sitting on a table looking very handsome, like always.

She dropped her things on the ground, and wrapped her hands around Noel's next. Noel placed his lips on hers. At first the kissing was gentle, but it became fiercer in seconds.

Noel started to wander his hands up Spencer's shirt. And she started wandering her hands down Noel's pants.

_Brrrriiiing! _Noel's pants started to ring. He stopped kissing Spencer and grabbed his phone.

"Hello?... Yeah…. Okay… I'll be there in a sec," Noel said through the phone. "Spence, I gotta go."

Spencer smiled at him, "Bye."

"Maybe we could do this again sometime?" Noel asked hopefully.

"Definitely," Spencer responded.

"It's nice playing with someone different," said Noel.

Spencer flirtatiously smiled, and Noel left. Spencer walked herself to the bathroom feeling very flushed. She looked in the mirror. Her hair was in disarray, and her blazer was askew. But she felt very pleased with herself.

_**Wow, Spence, you sure have an act for **_

_** stealing boyfriends!**_

_** Xoxo- A**_

And then she remembered Aria.


	5. Chapter 5

"Aria!"

Aria did a one-eighty on the street at the sound of her name.

"Hey!" said Noel, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"You smell like perfume," said Aria suspiciously.

"Do I?" Noel said. He grabbed some of his Hollister shirt and sniffed. Noel laughed. "My mum's new perfume, you like?"

Aria laughed nervously along with him. She's been so antsy since that text message from "A". She didn't know what to think about anything anymore.

"So what's up?" asked Noel. "You seem a little on edge."

"…Nothing," replied Aria.

"I know that's a lie. I can see right through you Aria!"

"We got a text message.."

"We?" asked Noel.

"Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and I."

"From whom did you get this message from?" asked Noel, as he cocked an eyebrow.

"A."

"Aria… She's dead, gone, lost in the ashes of that house… Don't do this to yourself. It's just some loser that gets off on scaring a group of teenage girls. Don't take it seriously."

"Don't you think we should still tell somebody about it though? This person is harassing us, the police can find them and stop them. I would sleep better at night if that's what we did," replied Aria.

"No. Don't bother the police. Don't bother anyone. Just delete the message and stop bugging out, this is unhealthy. You know better than to really think this person is A."

"I guess." A piece of Aria hair fell in her face.

Noel's phone beeped and he picked it up.

"Who is that?" Aria was quick to say.

"Just my mum, I gotta go, see ya!" he gave her another kiss on the cheek, turned around, and was off.

Aria just started walking again when she heard, "Aria!"She turned around and there stood Ezra.

Her eyes bulged out of her head, and a smile came to her lips. "Ezra!" Ezra came up to her, picked her up, and kissed her.

Aria's bag beeped and vibrated, she took it out, and she had one new text message.

_**Tsk, tsk, Aria! Well, at least you're not **_

_** The only cheater in your relationship!**_

_** Xoxo- A**_


	6. Chapter 6

Hanna Marin had fallen back into her bad habit of binging and purging. She couldn't resist the shoving the toothbrush down her throat every time she walked into her bathroom. She also couldn't resist all the ice cream, candy, and chips that were stashed in her kitchen. Whenever she looked at herself in the mirror, she saw her old poop hair and blotchy skin.

She was standing over the toilet with her finger in her throat, when her Justin Bieber ringtone rang.

She stood up and grabbed her phone, "What?" she barked into it.

"I just got an A text…" said Aria's voice over the phone.

Hanna rolled her eyes. "It's just someone messing with us! It's not actually real!"

"No… It's not like that… It feels like last time… _Exactly _like last time! It's Alison, Hanna! There's no other explanation! It's like someone is constantly watching me; I'm always looking behind my shoulder, and the text was like she was following me," said Aria quickly and loudly.

"Well, what did the text say?" Hanna asked.

She didn't say anything for a couple of seconds. "Does it matter?"

"Well… Yeah! Maybe we should just go to the police."

"I don't know…"

"We didn't last time, and you know what happened. We almost burned to death, would you like her to succeed this time around?"

"So you do believe she's back?" Aria asked hopefully.

Hanna sat down on her bathroom floor. "I have no clue, but it's probably better that we tell someone before it gets completely out of hand."

"Good idea. I'll go to the police station now."

"Have fun!" said Hanna sarcastically.

"Not funny, Hanna. I'll call you back as soon as I get back."

"K, bye."

Hanna bent over the toilet, and threw up. Hanna's phone rang again.

"Stupid Aria… She's got no guts," she said.

She had gotten a new text message from an unknown sender.

_**You just can't get rid of **_

_**that horrible habit, Hanna!**_

_**xoxo, A**_

_**P.S. You might want to**_

_**stop Aria! I know some of**_

_**your horrible new secrets!**_


	7. Chapter 7

Spencer grabbed a book from her backpack. _Ugh, work…_ she thought.

She got a text message and she almost jumped to the ceiling.

_**Can't stop thinking about our**_

_**make out session. Can't wait**_

_**until the next.**_

_**-Noel**_

Spencer too couldn't stop thinking about their hot meeting, but she couldn't do this to Aria. They were best friends, what were to happen if she ever found out? They definitely wouldn't be friends anymore. A couple of make outs aren't worth that.

Spencer hit the REPLY button.

_**We can't. **_

_**Aria's your girlfriend, and my best **_

_**friend. We just can't, Noel.**_

Almost instantly she got a reply.

_**She doesn't have to know.**_

Spencer had thought about that. They could just go on with this affair and no one had to find out, but no, Aria and Spencer are friends and she could never do something like that to her again.

_**Please. Don't. Don't you love**_

_**her?**_

She assumed he did, but she didn't really know. Noel has always been somewhat of a player… She had no clue why he and Aria were dating; they were such a strange couple. They had absolutely nothing in common.

_**Of course. She's just not as**_

_**hot and heavy as you. It gets**_

_**a little boring with her sometimes.**_

_**You must understand… I can't**_

_**imagine Andrew gives you much **_

_**action.**_

She did understand. Andrew was boring and she'd been contemplating breaking up with him for quite a while now.

_**I don't know, Noel… **_

_**Why don't you try to get**_

"_**hot and heavy" with**_

_**Aria?**_

Spencer really didn't want to be the other woman… _again._

_**Idk…**_

Spencer put her phone down. Surely somebody would find out about this sometime…

Her phone beeped again.

_**Hey Spence, Aria's off to the**_

_**police about me, but she **_

_**really should stay quiet.**_

_**You might want to stop her!**_

_**Otherwise she'll know about this!**_

_**xoxo- A**_

And attached to that message was a picture of Spencer and Noel in the Art room, getting hot and heavy.

_**Thanks for reading this chapter you guys! This is one of my favourites so far and I really want to know what you guys think! Please leave me a review! I'd REALLY appreciate it!**_


	8. Chapter 8

Aria had just gotten in the car when she got a call from Spencer.

"What?" Aria barked down the phone as she put the key in.

Aria heard silence and then "A isn't real."

Aria raised her eyebrows. Spencer had been on Aria's side. Spencer believed that it was Alison as well. Spencer agreed that it felt too much like last time. Why was she saying this?

"What are you talking about, Spence? I thought we agreed that it was too much like last time. I'm on my way to the police now, and I think-"

"Don't go to the police," Spencer interrupted.

"Why not? Even if it _is _a phony there's no reason to risk it. Not again."

Spencer laughed. A forced laugh. "Aria, stop. Come on. Some ninth grader came up to me today saying it was him and a couple of friends." Spencer knew it didn't make much sense, but she had to roll with it.

"Why would a ninth grader confess?"

"Well… he didn't confess exactly. I heard him bragging about it to a couple of girls. Thinking he was all cool for pulling one over some senior girls." Spencer found it incredible that she could lie this easily.

"Are you sure, Spence?"

"Absolutely. I got Andrew's brother to beat the fuck out of him. Trust me. Are you still going to go to the police? Because I honestly think it'd be a complete waste of your time."

Aria reluctantly acquiesced that it would be a waste of her time. She quickly hung up the phone.

She had just gotten out of the car when Hanna sent her a text.

_**Hey, what's up?**_

She read the text message quickly and decided she should share the good news.

_**A isn't real. It was just some**_

_**ninth grader. **_

She clicked send.

_**Didn't I tell you? **_

_**That's good news. Maybe**_

_**we can hang tomorrow? **_

_**After school?**_

Aria replied:

_**Sounds great. Bye.**_

She walked back up to her front door. She walked inside and plopped herself down on the couch. She didn't feel like spending the rest of the night alone. _Maybe I should call Ezra? _Aria thought to herself. But then she remembered that Noel was her boyfriend. She should spend time with her real boyfriend.

She texted Noel:

_**Wanna come over? xoxo**_

He replied:

_**No thxs. too busy at practice.**_

She didn't think he had practice on Thursdays…

_**Are you sure?**_

He replied back almost instantly.

_**Yes. Sorry, babe.**_

She sent back:

_**Fine. See you tomorrow 3**_

The text she got back wasn't one she was expecting.

_**It's funny that there is no**_

_**practice on Thursdays, isn't**_

_**it, Aria? I wonder what else**_

_**he could possibly be up to…**_

_**xoxo -A**_

**Hi, guys! Sorry I haven't posted in so long! Definitely more to come soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

Spencer sat at Steam, the school's coffee shop, with her three best friends. The expression on her friend's face was one of incredible shock.

"You're kidding me, right?" asked Emily.

"Nope," said Aria.

Emily looked to Spencer. "A ninth grader?"

Spencer nodded. "It's better than what we all thought it was…"

"I never thought it was Alison," said Hanna, who was reapplying her lip gloss.

Spencer rolled her eyes, but the eyes rested upon something other than Hanna's glossy lips, or Aria's freakish outfit, or Emily's surprised expression.

Noel.

He was staring right back at her from across the small café.

Suddenly, Emily's phone buzzed, and everyone's head turned to her. Emily held her breath, and so did Spencer. If this was A, then they would all know that Spencer's tale was completely spurious.

Emily exhaled a huge sigh of relief. "Just my mother. The foreign exchange girl arrived today."

"There is no A, guys," said Hanna pulling out a nail file. "Alison is gone."

"I know, I know…" said Emily. "Force of habit."

"Yeah, Hanna. It's going to take us all a while for us to… remember that life can be normal," said Aria in defense of Emily.

"I've got to go," said Emily picking up her bag and leaving the table.

"I should go too," Hanna said.

"Same." Aria got up as well. She didn't even notice Noel in the corner.

Spencer was left sitting alone at the booth. In fact, she and Noel were the only two customers left.

He looked at her. Stared, more like. He had that irresistible grin on his face. That knowing look in his eye. He made Spencer's neck sweat. Her hands tremble. Her heart race. It wasn't an emotional connection. It was physical. A purely physical relationship. Or. At least. That's what she told herself.

Noel got up from his booth and walked over to Spencer's. He didn't sit down; he hardly even looked at her. As he walked past the table he swiftly placed a sheet of paper on top of the shiny surface.

It read: **Art room. Same time.**

Spencer knew she didn't have the will power to not go. All of a sudden, her phone buzzed. She reluctantly pulled it out of her bag.

_**Another date in the **_

_**Art Room? Aw, Spence.**_

_**I thought you'd know **_

_**better by now.**_

_**xoxo –A**_

Spencer looked around the coffee shop, but there was no one there but herself and the man behind the cash register.


	10. Chapter 10

"This will be the best surprise birthday party!" shrieked Hanna eagerly.

Aria looked down at the cluttered jumble of magazines on Hanna's carpeted floor. "Yeah," she agreed. "Emily totally deserves it."

"And now that everything is behind us, we can get on with this planning!" said Hanna.

Spencer looked skeptical, but she didn't say anything.

"So, who do we invite?" asked Aria.

"_Everyone!_" said Hanna.

Spencer looked at Hanna. "Not everyone. We have to be smart and specific when inviting people. We can't just invite anybody." Spencer was good with planning things. It was the only hobby her and her mother had in common.

"Do we invite the foreign exchange girl?" asked Aria.

"I guess so," said Spencer.

"How about we just leave the invites to Spencer? That would make my job a lot easier," said Hanna writing something down on a clipboard. "So, what's our theme?"

"Masquerade?" Spencer suggested.

"Too overdone," replied Hanna.

"Pool party?" asked Aria.

"Nah."

"60's party?"

"Ew. No."

"Las Vegas party?" said Aria.

"…That's… actually not a bad idea."

"Las Vegas party it is," said Spencer.

Aria looked pleased with herself. "We're doing it on her birthday, right?"

"Yeah," Hanna responded. "It's good it falls on a Friday this year."

All of a sudden, Aria phone began to vibrate. Aria gasped. "Do I look at it?"

"That's all done now, Aria. You can forget about. It was just a ninth grader, right, Spence?" said Hanna.

Spencer looked uneasy, but she nodded her head.

"Right… I keep forgetting," replied Aria. "Every time it rings, a chill goes down my spine."

"It's going to take some time to get used to it," said Hanna, putting a reassuring hand on Aria's shoulder.

Aria nodded and took out her phone. Spencer and Hanna watched as Aria clicked some buttons. Suddenly, Aria's face turned serious. Her jaw was clenched. Her eyes were fixed on the screen.

Aria threw the phone to the floor next to her and turned to Spencer.

"Bitch," Aria said to Spencer. And then she tackled her.

Hanna began to yell at them and tried to separate them. But she couldn't do anything. Hanna stood back from the fighting pair and looked at the phone. It was a picture of Spencer and Noel hooking up in the Art Room.


	11. Chapter 11

"You have some serious explaining to do, Spence," said Hanna, who was looking at a quite beaten up Spencer.

Spencer didn't respond. She just kept staring into thin air.

"Spencer. Aria's hurt. Seriously hurt. How could you do this to her? I thought you were better than that. I thought you were the one of us that would never ever do anything like that. I can't believe you."

Spencer's eyes met Hanna's. "Stop."

"You hurt her."

"I know. I know."

Hanna picked up Aria's phone. "It was from A. A ninth grader wouldn't do this. A ninth grader wouldn't care."

"There was no ninth grader."

Hanna's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "Spencer, you have to be kidding me. Is this… Is this… This _can't _be Alison. Please, tell me this can't be Alison."

Spencer didn't say anything.

"Please. Please, Spencer."

"I can't say anything."

Aria jumped up from the corner of the room where she had been sitting silently, too distraught to speak. "Alison's back."

Spencer nodded.

"We can't be sure. Right? We can't be sure it's Alison," said Hanna.

"We've got to go to the police."

"No!" shouted both Hanna and Spencer in unison.

"What more could we possibly be hiding?!" yelled Aria.

Hanna and Spencer were both silent, but all of a sudden their phones starting beeping.

_**Everyone's hiding much more**_

_** than you can handle. **_

_** xxx A**_


End file.
